Robert Eckels describes his experiences as former Harris County judge. He discusses politics in Harris county and in the city of Houston, as well as his involvement in handling the influx of the evacuees from New Orleans during hurricane Katrina,...

Mayor Bill White Collection;Houston Oral History Project : a great city voices its past.

Dr. Jones talks about growing up in Hot Springs, Arkansas as a poor but ambitious girl, the events that shaped her life, her years in medical school, her career as a physician in Houston, and her life as a civil rights activist.

A successful Banker and a top graduate from Stanford Business School, Marc Shapiro was the President and Chief Executive of the Texas Commerce Bank. He retired in 2003 as Vice Chairman for finance and risk management at JP Morgan Chase & Co. He is...

Criss Cole served on the Texas legislature as a member of the House of Representatives and was then appointed as a judge in Harris County. Cole was instrumental in passing legislation to regulate water and air pollution in Harris County. In this...

Luis Cano was born in Corpus Christi and was inspired by his grandfather, Juan Bautista Galaviz, who worked to educate the Mexican American community of Del Rio, Texas, about their history and heritage. In the 1970s, Cano came to Houston and taught...

Tony Campos was born in Baytown in 1923. Twenty-two days after graduating from high school he was drafted to serve in World War II with the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper. He discusses growing up in Baytown and the segregation faced by the...

Dr. Russel J. Blattner came to Houston in 1947. In his oral history, Dr. Blattner details his medical career and describes the Houston medical center in the 1940s and 1950s. Dr. Blattner shares stories about many well known doctors such as Dr....

Michel Moore talks about how he, as the city of Houston Mayor's Chief of Staff, his staff, and the city of Houston in general, handled the influx of evacuees from the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

Arenia Edwards moved to Houston in 1941. She spent some time working in a cafe, but her true passion was volunteer work. Edwards loved volunteering, and volunteered for 20 years at the VA Hospital and at other places. In Louisiana, she took midwife...

Former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier is interviewed by Jim Barlow. Mr. Lanier discusses his years as a businessman in the real estate business, his law practice, and the highlights of his public career. He served three consecutive terms as Mayor of...

Bill Lawson, a political activist and civil rights organizer examines his life as a religious leader, and his participation in racial desegregation efforts in the Houston communities during the Civil Rights Movement.

Robert M. Eury was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the steward for Houston's redevelopment and revitalization. For 26 years he served as President of Central Houston, Inc. and worked on many projects on community planning in Houston and the...

As a young man, Juan Gallardo faced hardships in his hometown of Pueblo Nuevo, Mexico, after the Mexican Revolution. Fearing that conditions would not improve after the war, Gallardo left for America in 1919. After he arrived in Houston with no...

Eleanor Tinsley talks about her years as president of the board of the Houston Independent School District, and as member of the city council.
She was involved in the school integration movement and was instrumental in the creation of the Houston...